Cruise Day 2: Halifax, Nova Scotia

We awoke to fog this morning that was so thick you could barely see the walkway to get off the boat. Thankfully as we finished breakfast and got off the ship the fog cleared very quickly. 

Foggy eh?

We spent much of the morning walking along the boardwalk in Halifax. It is lined with beautiful boats, shops, and restaurants. The boardwalk starts just after you leave Pier 21, the Canadian version of Ellis Island. Over 1 million people traveled through there to become citizens. It is now a historic site and museum. The boardwalk is home to the longest privately owned schooner in the world (200ft long). 

Theodore the Tugboat in fornt of the lighthouse

Then on the way back from the boardwalk we stopped at Alexander Keith's Brewery Market. This is the oldest brewery still in operation in North America. This is a very neat place because it is tucked away through an alley way. There are four ways to navigate through once you get in there: the first is from the boardwalk and historic sites. The second is straight into the Alexander Keith's brewery. The third is to the courtyard and Red Stag Tavern. The fourth is through the bottling plant where it is currently gift shops.

There is also the Halifax Seaport Farmers Market; everything in it has to be from Nova Scotia. At the end of the market is an outdoor eating area where there are about a half dozen farm to table or sea to table restaurants. There is also a booth set up by one of the local breweries and wineries. We had a slice of Mediterranean pizza and a slice of shrimp pizza, and washed it down with Garrisons amber ale.

Fresh fruit/veggies at the market

Icewine chocolates for dessert!

Then it was off to our bus tour!  First stop is Peggy's Cove. This was spectacular. Peggy's Cove is home to the worlds most photographed lighthouse! It is 44 feet tall and was built in 1914. It has withstood many big storms including tropical storm Bill in 2009. Our tour guide Ellen, who was o-mazing, showed us a photograph she had of what the waves looked like from that storm.  The weather was perfect, which we were told is a rarity because it is usually very foggy there. 

Tropical Storm Bill

today

Waves from "Bill". Notice waves breaking higher than green house!

Boulders left scattered from the last ice age

Storm clouds rolling in!

The bright homes, all different colors, in town

The most photographed canal in Nova Scotia (so we're told)

Then the bus was off to the Fairview Lawn Cemetery, the cemetery where many of the Titanic victims were laid to rest. Because Halifax was the closest large port with readily available ships at the time, it was the port where they sent ships from to go recover the hundreds of bodies and debris left at sea. With the exception of a few wealthy deceased, whose families paid to have the bodies shipped home, most were buried in Nova Scotia or at sea. The large gravestones below came from wealthy families, and the smaller ones were either poor families or unknown people. 

While on our bus tour driving back, our tour guide Ellen told us about how on September 11th many of the planes bound for the U.S. were diverted to Halifax. She told us how their tiny little airport wasn't used to the very large planes, let alone that many at a time. In order to fit them all, they had to line them up in a row on the runway just to make room. The weight of the planes caused the runway to buckle and collapse in a few spots. It took them weeks to repair it. She said the town did not have enough hotels to hold all the people, so most of the Haligonians (what you are called if you are from Halifax) opened up their own homes to let these people stay. Some of them stayed for up to 3 weeks until the airport could be repaired and enough flights could be arranged.

After a few last minute souvenir purchases, it's back on the boat and off to Sydney, Nova Scotia!